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Water Governance
Management >Examples of RBOs >Nile River
Introduction
Integrated Water
Resources Management
Transboundary Water
Resources Management
Introduction
International Agreements The Nile River is the longest river in the world, traversing 6 700 km and draining an
area of approximately 3 million km², approximately 10% of the African continent
Bilateral Agreements
(Howell & Allan 1995). Ten countries share the geography and resources of the Nile
Basin Level Agreements
River basin; five of these countries are considered among the world’s poorest, placing
Benefit Sharing
incredible pressure on the resources of the basin (CIDA 2007). The Nile River is
Examples of RBOs
formed from two main tributaries, the Blue Nile originating in the highlands of
Orange- Senqu River
Ethiopia and the White Nile originating in the mountains of Rwanda and Burundi. The Explore the sub- basins of the
Nile River
river flows through a variety of ecosystems and landscapes ranging from mountains to Kunene River
Danube River
tropical forests, wetlands and deserts (NBI 2001).
Mekong River
Southern African
Development Community Although 15 bilateral water agreements have been signed between 1925 and 2003
Water Governance in the (Lautze & Giordano 2005), there is currently no basin- wide agreement governing the
Nile River. A number of cooperative efforts are described below.
Kunene River Basin
Stakeholders
Capacity Development &
Information Sharing
References
Nile Basin Initiative
Video Interviews about the
integrated and transboundary
management of the Kunene
River basin
Nile Basin Initiative organisational
structure.
Source: NBI 2009.
( click to enlarge )
The Nile River basin.
Source: Hatfield 2009.
( click to enlarge )
From 1967 to 1981, the HYDROMET project (Hydro- meteorological Survey of the
Catchments of Lakes Victoria, Kyoga and Albert) resulted in the collection of hydrometeorological data over a 25- year period and established a trained group of regional
experts. In 1992, the Ministers of Water Affairs of six of the Nile River Basin
countries established the Technical Cooperation Committee for the Promotion of the
Development and Environmental Protection of the Nile River Basin (TECCONILE).
Member countries were brought together under TECCONILE to develop the 1996
Nile River Basin Action Plan, which helped to provide the foundation for the Nile
Basin Initiative.
In February 1999, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) was launched through funding
provided by the World Bank, the Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The Nile Basin
Initiative is the first regional initiative comprising all ten riparian countries (Eritrea
currently has observer status) united by an agreed basin- wide framework, and is
guided by a shared vision “to achieve sustainable socio- economic development
through the equitable utilisation of, and benefit from, the common Nile Basin water
resources (NBI 2009)”. The Nile Basin Initiative operational structure consists of the
Council of Ministers of Water Affairs of the Nile Basin Countries (Nile- COM) as the
highest decision- making body, the Technical Advisory Committee (Nile- TAC), and
the Nile Basin Secretariat (Nile- SEC).
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The Nile- COM provides policy guidance and makes decisions on matters relating to
the Nile Basin and the Technical Advisory Committee (Nile- TAC), provides technical
advice and assistance to the Nile- COM. The secretariat (Nile- SEC) provides
administrative, financial and logistical support and services to Nile- COM and NileTAC. Nile- SEC is responsible for coordinating the Shared Vision Programme (SVP)
working groups and Subsidiary Action Programme (SAP).
Explore the principles of
Integrated Water Resource
Management applied to the
Kunene
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the Nile Basin and the Technical Advisory Committee (Nile- TAC), provides technical
advice and assistance to the Nile- COM. The secretariat (Nile- SEC) provides
administrative, financial and logistical support and services to Nile- COM and NileTAC. Nile- SEC is responsible for coordinating the Shared Vision Programme (SVP)
working groups and Subsidiary Action Programme (SAP).
The Nile River basin presents a practical example of some of the challenges inherent
in transboundary water management. Achieving a basin- wide agreement governing
the Nile River is complicated by the competing needs of upstream and downstream
users. However, the Nile Basin riparians have been cooperating on a number of
technical issues and projects, demonstrating how technical cooperation can lead to
basin- wide collaboration.
More information about the Nile Basin Initiative can be accessed via the Nile River
Awareness Kit.
Next: International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River